From the land beyond beyond…from a world past hope and fear…we bid the Lens to appear…
The Living Lens Awakening
The ending of “Children of The Lens” leaves a fairly narrow interpretation of “carrying on the blood line” by the only means possible. Christopher Kinnison and his sisters would inevitably produce the next phase of lensmen (L4), each of them intellects stable at the 4th, and final, level of stress. This (oft-intentionally) hinted – at culmination of lensmanship among the races of the First Galaxy is clearly the only choice for the Kinnison/McDougall children. As such, their offspring naturally experience ingrained from birth, the cohesion experienced within “the Unit”: that carefully – controlled synthesis of mental dynamic balance of life forces which charges and challenges every L3 (or 3rd stage lensman) while en-rapport with intellects of the same level.
So the question is what shape would these newly evolved beings take? The lenses would be woven into their very fabric: living lenses. No longer semi-sentient, the lens would warp into its final form as the essence of – not merely merged with – more the progenitor of the life force taking form. In store, then, are potentially many more stories of Christopher, Kathryn, Camilla, Constance and Karen Kinnison (known affectionately as Kit, Kat, Cam, Con and Kay).
Worthy of mention, then, are their adopted 2nd stagers: Worsel, Constance’s adopted uncle, also happens to be a winged reptilian monstrosity with inherent telepathic abilities only enhanced by his lens and 2nd stage training. This Velentian “Dragon Lensman’s” very existence is committed to wiping out the race known as the Delgonians – the fiendish race obsessed with mental and physical torture , collectively known as the “Overlords of Delgon”, and perpetual enemy to all Velentians.
Then there’s Camilla’s uncle Tregonsee (Uncle Trig for short): the Rigellian who, like all his race, resembles a sentient oil drum with multiple arm-like appendages and no eyes nor ears – instead endowed with a sense of perception which actually is more interesting and powerful (and far-less limiting) than humanity’s vision and hearing. Together Cam and Tregonsee sought to find the elusive “X” – the race of beings native to the planet Ploor – the echelon of power immediately below the ultimate enemy – and only original race of the Second Galaxy – Eddore itself (though in point of fact they are ultimately from a foreign plane of existence).
Nadreck of Palain VII, the frigid – blooded Palainian – or Z type (existing in multiple spacial dimensions simultaneously) being in the Doc Smith system of classification, is to human eyes a seething mass of constantly shifting gases and shimmering lights – nothing short of astonishing to behold. Noxious poison chlorine gas is to these creatures as is air to the warm-blooded oxygen breather. Karen developed real affection for Nadreck and together they stuck deep blows in the War of Civilization against the likes of the Eich – the next level below the Ploorans – those ghostly Eddorian allies forced into the next plane of existence through the feats of the Galactic Patrol. Nadreck (working alone) brought down Kandron of Onlo – chief Onlonian psychologist.
Finally Kathyrn – the eldest Kinnison daughter, was bonded in spirit with her father: Kimball Kinnison. These relationships between L3 and L2 get considerable treatment in the pages of “Children of The Lens.”
Yes this is story-telling carried to impossible heights of development. So much so it changed the face of “scientific fiction” as it was then called. As Doc never haggled with efficiency so there can be little doubt as to what the Lens Universe was eventually going to become. This great melding of lensed beings would bequeath to the galaxies the final and ultimate solution to the problem inherent in Doc’s much vaunted police novels of space – there being no ability to prove the loyalty to benevolent intentions toward civilization. The Lens of Arisia, no longer only the symbol of harmony, but a living being inherently impossible for malefactors to replicate – the Living Lens.
The Lensman Series was written between 1934 * (beginning with “Triplanetary” – published by Fantasy Press) and 1947 (“Children of the Lens” – which was first serialized in Astounding Magazine), the six main novels of this series are THE story for which the term “space-opera” was coined.
* “The Universes of E.E. Smith”
by Ron Ellik and Bill Evans
1966 Advent Publishers – Inc.
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